If you’ve never seen the Japanese horror film Ju-On, or its American remake The Grudge, the premise is simple: a horrible double murder happens in a house, and now the restless spirits there torment and kill anyone who steps inside. Well, if that sounds like how you want to spend your summer, then the prequel series Ju-On: Origins is right up your haunted alley:
Here’s the official synopsis:
The legendary Japanese horror franchise that has become a smash hit worldwide gets its first drama adaptation. In the Netflix Original Series Ju-On: Origins, the story based on a truth more terrifying than fiction returns. Can the people haunted by this house escape from its curse? And what kind of grim incident occurred in this cursed house in the past?
You’d think given that we’re all mostly stuck inside this summer due to the coronavirus, a series about being trapped in a house would be the last thing people would want to watch. But Netflix knows we love some of that spooky summer action, and is releasing it on the same day as Hamilton releases on Disney+. Likely not on purpose, but definitely catering to two very different crowds of people.
From the trailer, it looks like the series will be a series of vignettes, with different characters interacting with house and its spirits to horrific effect. We just twisted fetuses, creepy noises caught on tape, terrifying white eyes peering from the outside, and a whole lot more that I was not willing to watch a second time because I don’t need more nightmares. Watch for yourself if you’re feeling brave.
Ju-On: Origins will premiere on Netflix from July 3, 2020.